News from the Library of Congress

May 14, 2010

Library’s 2010 Florence Tan Moeson Fellows Announced

The Library has selected nine individuals to receive 2010 Florence Tan Moeson Fellowships. Under this program, scholars have the opportunity to conduct research using the Library’s Asian collections.

Established in 2005, the fellowship is made possible by a generous donation from Florence Tan Moeson, a former Library employee who retired with more than 40 years of Library service. The purpose of the fellowship is to give individuals the opportunity to pursue research on East, Southeast or South Asia, or the Asian American and Pacific Islander community using the Library’s Asian collections. Fellowship recipients have included librarians, graduate students, independent scholars, researchers and university professors.

Under the terms of the donation, up to 15 Moeson fellowships are awarded each year. Each carries a stipend of $300 to $2,500 to support a minimum of five days of research at the Library of Congress. Each recipient’s research project will result in a brief report and an informal presentation at the Library. A list of 2010 fellows and their proposal titles are provided below.

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the central repository for all types of Asian publications that are not broadly available at other locations in the United States. Initiated in 1869 with a gift of 10 works in 934 volumes offered to the United States by the Emperor of China, the Library’s Asian collection of more than 2.8 million items is the largest and most comprehensive outside of Asia.

Kazuko Hioki, University of Kentucky Libraries, "Examination of the Physical Characteristics of Japanese Printed Books Produced in the Edo Period from the Pre-Meiji Collection of the Asian Division at the Library of Congress."

Brett McCabe, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University, "The Changing Role of the Jawi Script in Malaysia"

Dylan McGee, State University of New York, New Paltz, "Scholarly Translation of Shodo Kikimimi Sekenzaru"

Steven Napier, University of Cincinnati, "Political Development and Education in India"

Huong Nguyen, Ohio University, "Voices from the Night before Renovation: Vietnamese Public Opinion in the Period of 1979"

Michelle Samura, University of California, Santa Barbara, "How the Asian American College Students’ Experiences Foreshadow Larger Trends in Asian American Identity and Racialization"